Sorry about the lack of pictures. My camera is splash proof, but not water proof - would have been fine in this morning's conditions. The winds were, estimating, five to 10 knots. I sailed with Mark, who got his TI on the same truck that mine came in on. We sailed on a wide section of the ICW in Boynton Beach, Fl., launching off the beach next to an inlet off the Atlantic Ocean.
I was not sure exactly what to expect, despite watching all of the Utube videos and reading all of the reviews. I have been sailing a variety of sub-20' mono hulls, and have sailed cats, kayaks and sailboards. My current mono hull (WW Potter 15) doesn't sail well above about 65 degrees off the wind.
Mark and I sailed about three or four miles north on the ICW on a beam to broad reach and back close hauled. In both directions we were cruising at about five knots - probably ranging from 3.5 to 6 (Mark had the GPS and reported 5.2 both times I asked). I was very impressed with the boat. It is a sail boat, which is what I hoped it would be. I kept the peddle drive in, being first sail and all. It may be slower that way, but it is nice to be able to motor sail when tacking and when pinching, or even just to go a little faster. I was pleasantly surprised by the up wind performance. We had no difficulty getting back to the beach with an off shore wind and we were able to stay on one tack on the up wind course. The boat feels very slippery in the water, quickly converting gusts into momentum.
I think this boat is going to sail well in a much wider range of wind conditions than does the mono. The mono provides much better shelter and much more overall comfort, but it's going to be hard to leave the AI home in favor of the mono. It is nice to be able to fit both in the garage and and still be able to get a car in there.
Happy Father's Day,
Ted
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I'm ready to go, but maybe not in this heat.